The Outsider By Albert Camus Research Paper

Existentialism arose during the bleak years of the Second World War to provide meaning in a Godless universe. Albert Camus illustrates this connotation of existentialism in his novel The Outsider. Camus focuses around the main character Meursault, who is on a journey of becoming a true existentialist. Meursault’s actions eventually lead him to an unnecessary court trial for his lack of emotion as opposed to the actual murder he committed. Through his futile imprisonment he accepts the consequences for his actions and ultimately his inevitable death. Through this characterization, the reader realizes the uncertainty of an afterlife is best rebelled through the daily purpose one creates and for which they take full responsibility for, leading to the certainty of one’s life.
There is no proof or evidence of an afterlife, as it is all based on faith. The misconception of the present being lived for an unfathomable possibility, such as heaven, is a notion that entails life is futile unless this possibility is to be proven fact. However, this blind faith becomes irrelevant to Meursault’s case despite the magistrate’s beliefs:
That was his belief and if he should ever doubt it, his life would become meaningless. ‘Do you want my life to be meaningless?’ he cried. As far as I was concerned, it had nothing to do with me… (Camus 68).
The magistrate refused to believe a man could live in a world where his actions are irrelevant to a greater purpose found in the afterlife, leaving him frustrated and Meursault unemotional. Meursault’s refusal to partake in faith left him to deal with the reality of his situation, leading to his acceptance of his execution. This rebellion of false hope enables Meursault to focus on and take pleasure in the